Genesis Chapter 3

" Moses will lead them out of their sufferings"

​Context: “Garden of Eden”

Chief People:

  • God 
  • The Trinity 
  • Adam 
  • Eve 
  • Satan

​Choice Verses:

GENESIS 3:1 ​

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?'

  • The serpent in Genesis 3:1 is widely viewed as Satan himself. Satan and the other demons are spiritual beings, not physical, but with the ability to take control of both people (Luke 22:3) and animals (Mark 5:11–13). Jesus describes Satan as the Father of lies (John 8:44), and Genesis 3 describes the first recorded lies to be heard on earth. Finally, Revelation refers to Satan as a dragon, the "ancient serpent" or "serpent of old" (Revelation 12:9) (Revelation 20:2). One has to ask why the serpent went to Eve rather than Adam.

GENESIS 3:2 ​

The woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,

  • This conversation is his attempt to convince her to disobey God. He starts with a question he knows the answer to, one apparently intended to draw her into judging God's character.​

GENESIS 3:3 ​

but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.

  • The restriction that they were not even allowed to touch the tree wasn't part of God's actual command. Either She did not fully understand the command, she misremembered it, or she intentionally misquoted it. What is clear is it wasn’t what God actually told Adam, and Her account is second hand from what we know. It is possible Adam himself added the “do not touch” when relying God’s command to Her. ​​

GENESIS 3:4 ​

You will not certainly die,' the serpent said to the woman.

  • ​The serpent now flatly contradicts God. Adam and Eve did not instantly die physically after eating fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, they did die as a result of their decision, both spiritually and physically. They became spiritually separated from the source of all life. In the New Testament, Paul will describe this as being dead in our sins, the state of spiritual death each of us continues to be born into (Ephesians 2:1–2).

GENESIS 3:5 ​

For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

  • ​The serpent plants the seed that God fears not that they will fall from His grace, but become God’s themselves. Satan reveals what he wants Eve to believe: that God's true motive for His rule is selfishness. According to the Devil, God just wants to scare them away so they don't become like Him. The serpent says, eating that fruit will open their eyes. They'll finally see the world as it really is, knowing all things: "good and evil," just like God. They gain the knowledge of evil by committing it for the first time in human history. That lie continues to drive humans toward sin and away from the good God who loves us, it attempts to displace God as moral authority. Today, too often, people rely on themselves to determine right and wrong. They do not rely on God, religion, or the Bible. Morally speaking, they are their own god’s.

GENESIS 3:6 ​

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

  • This verse elicits some sympathy towards the woman, it fills Her appetite,  looks good to Her, and nourishes Her mind. The Apostle John's description of the things which still drive the world as we know it today: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). What is unclear here is at what point Adam entered the conversation, and according to the Bible, it's Adam's sin which causes the fall of man (Romans 5:12).

GENESIS 3:7 ​

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

  • Through this first act, sin officially arrived. We've all had the experience of engaging with and falling to temptation. Adam and Eve started the ball rolling, but all of us who have lived have kept it going (Romans 3:23). One has to wonder if this is more the story of “The Fall” of man, or “The Choice” of man.​

GENESIS 3:8 ​

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

  • Now we see their shame and guilt also drives them to hide from God. The implication of this verse is that God would regularly come to the garden to spend time with Adam and Eve. Their sin has broken their intimate relationship with Him, and instead of enjoying His presence, Adam's and Eve's first instinct was to hide from Him.​

GENESIS 3:9 ​

But the LORD God called to the man, 'Where are you?'

  • God only calls man (Adam), and asks where are “you”, and  "you," is singular. In other words, at this moment, God is not calling to Eve, or challenging her actions. He is not asking "where are you two?" He is specifically asking, "where are you, (Adam)?". This is about Adam’s actions, not Eve’s. Adam, right from the beginning, is treated as the one ultimately responsible for the fall of mankind (Romans 5:12).​

​GENESIS 3:10 ​

He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.'

  • Adam, at this moment, honestly has no idea what to expect. He has no knowledge of how God will react, and knows only a desperate need to hide his unholy sin from a holy God. Human sin had never happened before. No process existed for confession, judgment, or restoration. When first confronted by God it's not the sin itself he fears, instead he focuses on his nakedness, not wanting to be seen by God.​

GENESIS 3:11 ​

And he said, 'Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?'

  • This question from God, even though he knows the answer, forces Adam to admit the truth. As much as we want to hide from sin and the truth, it is always known by God, even if we believe the sin itself was encouraged by someone else. We all need to take responsibility for our own actions.​

GENESIS 3:12 ​

The man said, 'The woman you put here with me--she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.'

  • Adam not only shifts blame to the “woman” (Eve) for eating from the Tree of Knowledge, he also blames God himself when he says “The woman you put here with me”, implying that had God not put her there with him, he would have never sinned. This in a way reminds me of the push for gun bans in our country, as I've long said it’s not guns that kill people, it’s people that kill people. The “blame game” may have started with Adam, but it surely did not end with him. Sadly, and too often within our society, human beings need four things; air, food, water, and someone else to blame.​

GENESIS 3:13 ​

Then the LORD God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.

  • Once again, the blame game continues as the woman shifts blame to the serpent. What is different here is she only blames the serpent, and not God for making the serpent. Also noted is that in one way, the woman does assume some responsibility when she confesses “and I ate”.​

GENESIS 3:14 ​

So the LORD God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done this, 'Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.

  • God does not blame the serpent here,, but he is the only one of the three to be cursed. As Jesus will say, Satan is a liar (John 8:44). God chooses not to give the liar a chance to speak in this moment. God’s curse on the serpent raises some questions, but it’s clear he will crawl on his belly and will eat dust all the days of his life.​

GENESIS 3:15 ​

And I will put between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.

  • Although this verse is directed towards the “woman”, it is primarily toward the serpent, as it is a continuation of the previous verse. Enmity Definition is a feeling or condition of hostility; hatred; ill will; animosity; antagonism. God pronounces curses on each of them, as well as on the generations to follow. God promises to make enemies of Satan and the woman, and will remain enemies throughout all generations. Jesus, calling out the Jewish religious leaders in (John 8:44) was in reference to this curse, as was (Matthew 12:34). In short, God says that Satan will always be the enemy of mankind. It follows that people who side with Satan will be at perpetual war with God’s elect and that we are engaged in a very real battle between good and evil (Ephesians 6:12). The second half of the verse says “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel”. I believe “he” is referring to Jesus, and although Satan may win some battle (strike at his heels), it is through Christ that the Devil will ultimately be defeated, through Christ. The use of the word “crush” implies death. As Peter wrote, he continues to hunt and seek to devour humans to this very day (1 Peter 5:8), though he won't be allowed to do so forever.​

GENESIS 3:16 ​

To the woman he said, 'I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.'

  • This is a punishment inflicted on women, and those of the future. With “very” severe one has to believe some pain was always expected, but the punishment now makes it more. God removed some of his protection from nature. The last part of this verse is both controversial, and unclear. One has to take into context that this is a punishment from God, and both man and woman are guilty of this sin, it's hard to believe that man’s punishment is to rule over the woman. I believe it’s more directed to the man not taking responsibility, and not protecting the woman. Husband and wife relationships should be built on love, trust, and respect.  In this time of equality we can embrace that but we can't ignore the simple fact that men are typically attracted to different traits than women. Men are more likely to be attracted to such traits as looks, where women more often focus on such traits as the success and strengths of the man, they often look for the man to be the more dominant of the two.​

GENESIS 3:17 ​

To Adam he said, 'Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat from it,' 'Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life.

  • This verse starts with consequences not because Adam listened to his wife, but because he did not listen to God, God does at times make clear there are times you should listen to your wife (Genesis 21:12)  but this is not one of those times. Adam sinned by not standing up and speaking the truth to his wife when she invited him to participate in her sin. As with Eve, Adam's curse is one of hardship in doing the necessary work of life, in doing something that would otherwise have brought great joy and meaning to his existence. Instead of easily producing crops as seeds were planted, as had been the case in the garden up to this point, the ground would be cursed. Adam will suffer great pain in getting the ground to yield edible crops in doing his daily work. Eve's curse involved pain and struggle in her family relationships through childbirth, while Adam's involved pain and frustration in his working life.

GENESIS 3:18 ​

It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

  • This verse continues God's curse on Adam for his sin. God has pronounced that Adam's lifelong work of getting food from the ground would now bring him great pain and frustration.​

GENESIS 3:19 ​

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.

  • This is a reminder that the lie that the serpent told them was just that, a lie. By eating from the “Tree of Knowledge” they would not be like God, as the serpent had suggested, but they were God’s creation from dust, and upon death be returned to dust. Death would be the final consequence of Adam's choice to sin, just as God had warned when giving the command. It's true that Adam did not stop breathing on the day he ate of the tree, but death entered into his life on that day. We all know we begin with birth, live, and eventually die. That's the curse all humans have lived under ever since. For those in Christ, though, the curse of death will be overcome (Ephesians 2:1-10).​

GENESIS 3:20 ​

Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

  • Eve translated  in Hebrew (haw'wāh) is “life” or "living".haw'wāh is actually used only twice in the Old Testament: here and in Genesis 4:1  Adam translated is “earth”, one cannot survive without the other. Life and life can not become the mother of all living things, just as earth and earth can not.​

GENESIS 3:21 ​

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

  • Eve's name points to the future generations to come. And this verse reveals that God will still provide, starting with clothing for Adam and Eve. In order to make this clothing of skin, though, an animal had to die. This is the first recorded record of death in the Scriptures. This first sin not only brought death on human beings, but also animals. This is significant as later in Genesis, God will require the sacrifice of animals to provide a blood covering for human sin. However, blood sacrifices would not always be required. Eventually, Jesus' Himself would bleed and die to provide a final covering for the sins of all who would trust in Him for salvation.​

GENESIS 3:22 ​

And the LORD God said, 'The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.

  • Scripture confirms that all three aspects of the Trinity (God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and Christ) were present from before the foundation of the world, so the “like us” here is logically the Trinity. God confirms the serpent's half-truth that eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil has made Adam and Eve like God, in one way. However, this is certainly not the way the snake led them to believe. According to God's curses, Adam's and Eve's knowledge of good and evil would lead to great frustration, pain, and heartache. They would experience happiness and receive good gifts from God along the way, to be sure, but their days would be punctuated by conflict and suffering. Does this give reason to bad things happening to good people? It appears in the last of this verse that the Tree of Life was not removed, but God restricts access of it to man. One can only imagine what are world would become if someone of true evil were able to live forever, and may be the driving force on why “life” here has limits​

GENESIS 3:23 ​

So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.

  • One would come to believe that at this point the Garden of Eden was no more, but is that true. God banished them from it, and with that said, it is implied that it was still there, they were just not allowed in it. And although this banishment can appear to be a horrible punishment, given that Adam and Eve were removed for God's presence in the Garden, there is always a plan with God. At that moment I believe He had already begun His plan to redeem His people, to purchase back at the price of His own Son's life all those who would trust in Christ. For them, this separation from God will one day end. We will be united with our Father in the Eden-like home of an eternity with Him. In the New Testament, Paul will describe the groaning of the Christian's longing to be with our Father as we wait for that day (Romans 8:18–25).

GENESIS 3:24 ​

After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

  • Genesis 3 ends with our last glimpse of the Garden of Eden, of the paradise God had built for the first humans. While this might seem cruel, we have the opportunity at an eternal, restored relationship afterwards. This is the first mention of a cherubim in Scripture. Cherubim angels are mentioned over 90 times in the Old Testament. Ezekiel 1 and 10 describe them as powerful winged creatures. They almost always serve in the capacity of guarding or protecting what belongs to God or even His own presence. Here a cherubim is assigned to guard the way to the Tree of Life.

​Crucial Words

Ā'rum - Hebrew translation means "prudent" or "sly."
Enmity - Enmity means intense hostility, hatred; ill will; animosity, and comes from the same Latin root as enemy, and means the state of being an enemy.

Cross Reference

  • (Luke 22:3) “Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve.”
  • (Mark 5:11–13) “11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.”
  • (John 8:44) “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
  • (Revelation 12:9) “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”
  • (Revelation 20:2) “He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”
  • (Ephesians 2:1–2) “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.”
  • (1 John 2:16) ” For everything in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--comes not from the Father but from the world”.
  • (Romans 3:23) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”
  • (Romans 5:12) “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all men, because all sinned”.
  • (Exodus 7:5) “And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.” Egypt has long worshiped the serpent. 
  • (John 8:44) You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
  • ​(John 8:44) “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies”.
  • (Matthew 12:34) “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
  • (Ephesians 6:12) “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”.
  • (1 Peter 5:8) “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
  • (Genesis 21:12) “But God said to him, “Do not be so distressed about the boy and your slave woman. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”
  • (Ephesians 2:1-10) “1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
  • (Romans 8:18–25) “18 consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently”.
  • ​​(Ezekiel 1:5-9) ”5 In appearance their form was human, 6 but each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight; their feet were like those of a calf and gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four of them had faces and wings, 9 and the wings of one touched the wings of another.”
  • (Ezekiel 10:3) “Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court”

Questions:

  • Genesis 3:1 Is the serpent here referring to Satan?
  • Genesis 3:6 Does the Bible's statement that "her husband, who was with her" mean Adam has been present for the entire conversation with the Serpent? If so, why did he remain silent? Why didn't he jump in and stop it? If he has come into the picture later, why wouldn't he question her choice, or resist?
  • Genesis 3:6 At what point had Adam been part of the conversation between the Serpent and Eve?
  • Genesis 3:8 Why does God keep referring to Adam as “man”, even after it’s been established that “man” here is Adam?
  • Genesis 3:8 How does God, who is a spirit, "walk" in the Garden of Eden?
  • Genesis 3:9 Why was this “first sin” attributed to Adam, rather than Eve?
  • Genesis 3:10 Why Does Adam Focus on his nakedness first rather than the Sin itself?
  • Genesis 3:13 Why does the woman only blame the serpent, and not God too, as Man had?
  • Genesis 3:15 ​Does this action by man in any way define the future relationship between man and woman?
  • Genesis 3:14 Why does the serpent not shift blame, logically to God, like man and woman had previously?
  • Genesis 3:14 What is meant by God when he curses the serpent, and says “you will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life”. Did the serpent have legs, and was able to walk?
  • Genesis 3:15 Who is Satan's offspring?
  • Genesis 3:15 Was this the Bible’s first prediction of Jesus?
  • ​Genesis 3:15 Who is “he” referring to in when God says “he will crush your head.”
  • Genesis 3:16 What exactly does God mean when he says' Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.'?
  • Genesis 3:18 Why does God say “thorns and thistles”?
  • Genesis 3:20 Why is it not until here woman named Eve?
  • Genesis 3:22 Who is God talking to in this verse when He says that the man has become like "one of us?. Is this the "Trinity"?
  • Genesis 3:24 Why was the Tree of Life no longer available to man after Adam and Eve’s sin?
  • Genesis 3:24 ​ Is there any evidence as to where the Tree of Life went?
  • Does Sin always separate us from God?
  • How does misquoting what has been told to us change its intended meaning?
  • Is (Exodus 7:5) in any way due to the curse in Genesis that God put on the serpent?

​Christ seen (or mentioned)?

  • Perhaps in Genesis 3:15, and Genesis 3:22

​Central Lessons(s), and Timeless Truth(s):

  • Sin was introduced to us through Adam and Eve, and will be with us until the 2nd coming of Christ

Conclusion:

​Sidenotes: